nflJanuary 21, 2018 9:38am ESTJanuary 21, 2018 9:35am ESTSunday's conference championship games feature the four best teams remaining in the hunt for a Super Bowl. Here are the best players among those four teams, ranked 1-52.

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The conference championship round of the playoffs makes for the best NFL Sunday of the year. The four best teams in the league battling for two spots in America's biggest sporting event — can't beat it.

This season, the Patriots, Jaguars, Eagles and Vikings have emerged as the contenders in the AFC and NFC to reach Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. Considering New England is about to play in its seventh consecutive AFC championship game, chances are you know all about the players responsible for the Patriots' dominance.

But you also should get to know the players Jacksonville, Philadelphia and Minnesota can thank most for their respective deep playoff runs.

As the 52nd Super Bowl draws near, here are the 52 best players on the four teams that will play in conference title games Sunday.

1. Tom Brady, QB, Patriots

Did you really think somebody else would be No. 1? Brady remains lethal at age 40, building on his case as the greatest quarterback of all time with yet another All-Pro season. He's the reason the Patriots are heavy favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

2. Calais Campbell, DE, Jaguars

An easy argument can be made that Campbell has been the NFL's best defensive player in 2017. His career-high in sacks (14.5) and his first career All-Pro selection are the tangibles, but in his first season with the Jaguars, Jacksonville went from a 3-13 team to a 10-6 team with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. That's not a coincidence.

3. Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots

Gronk remains arguably the biggest matchup nightmare for defenses in the NFL. While the league's best tight end didn't set any career highs in 2017, his stats — 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns — were good enough for another All-Pro selection, his fourth in eight seasons.

4. Jalen Ramsey, CB, Jaguars

Ramsey is in his second year as a pro, and many already consider the Jaguars' cover man the best cornerback in football. His four interceptions, 17 passes defensed and 52 tackles in the regular season earned him an All-Pro selection for 2017.

5. Harrison Smith, S, Vikings

Smith, a 2017 All-Pro selection after two straight Pro Bowl nods, is a freak show, and this season he has been arguably the NFL's best safety. In his sixth season, all with Minnesota, Smith matched a career high with five interceptions, and he set a new career high with 12 passes defensed.

6. Jason Kelce, C, Eagles

Kelce, who has been the Eagles' starting center (when healthy) for seven years, still has a case to be made as the NFL's best at his position. He remains the anchor of what has become one of the league's best offensive lines, even without Jason Peters.

7. Fletcher Cox, DT, Eagles

Simply put: Trying to block Cox, one of the NFL's best interior defensive linemen, is not fun. The sixth-year Eagle earned his third straight Pro Bowl selection in 2017 after anchoring Philly's front and producing 5.5 sacks.

8. Everson Griffen, DE, Vikings

Now in his eighth season with the Vikings, Griffen has established himself as one of the best in a league full of talented defensive ends. His third straight Pro Bowl selection in 2017 serves as proof. He set a new career high and led the team with 13 sacks in the regular season.

9. Brandon Graham, DE, Eagles

Graham has been a stud edge rusher in Philadelphia for eight seasons, and he has been as good as (if not better than) ever in 2017. The 29-year-old set a new career high with 9.5 sacks. He also added two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

10. A.J. Bouye, CB, Jaguars

The Jags knew what they were doing when they acquired Bouye from the Texans in free agency before the season. He set a new career high with six interceptions and earned his first Pro Bowl nod as an elite cover man in Jacksonville's stout defense.

11. Lane Johnson, OT, Eagles

Johnson in 2017 returned from an embarrassing suspension and had his best season in the NFL, as his first career All-Pro selection proves. Now established as one of the league's best tackles, Johnson was key for an Eagles team that lost left tackle Jason Peters to an injury during the season.

13. Malcolm Jenkins, S, Eagles

The 30-year-old safety, who's in his ninth NFL season (fourth with the Eagles), was selected to just his second Pro Bowl in 2017, but he certainly earned it. Jenkins added a couple interceptions, eight passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 57 tackles to his career totals.

14. Telvin Smith, LB, Jaguars

Smith's fourth season in the middle of the Jaguars' defense was another good one. He set a new career high with three picks on the year (one for a touchdown). He recorded 76 tackles (plus 26 assisted), one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, one sack and five passes defensed in the regular season.

15. Dion Lewis, RB, Patriots

In a Patriots backfield full of shifty, versatile running backs, Lewis stands out as their shiftiest, most versatile. The fifth-year pro enjoyed career highs in rushing yards (896), rushing touchdowns (6) and rushing yards per game (56.0). The most impressive aspect of his contributions in the passing game (214 yards, 3 TDs) is that he caught 32 of his 35 targets in 2017. Oh, and don't forget the one kick return touchdown.

16. Malik Jackson, DT, Jaguars

Jackson's second year in Jacksonville, after four in Denver, has been his best. The sixth-year defensive tackle set a new career high with eight sacks in 2017, which earned him his first career Pro Bowl selection.

19. Stefon Diggs, WR, Vikings

Diggs' touchdown reception to beat the Saints in the divisional round of the playoffs alone would be enough to warrant this ranking, but the third-year wide receiver has been doing it all season. He set a new career high with eight touchdown catches in 2017.

20. Trey Flowers, DE, Patriots

Though still relatively unheralded in his third NFL season, Flowers is New England's best defender. In 14 games, he registered 6.5 sacks, 45 tackles (plus 17 assisted), two forced fumbles and three passes defensed.

21. Patrick Robinson, CB, Eagles

For an eighth-year corner who is on his fourth NFL team and didn't even start every game, Robinson had a huge 2017 season. In his first season with the Eagles, Robinson set career highs in interceptions (4) and passes defensed (18).

22. Adam Thielen, WR, Vikings

Thielen's career trend suggests he was due to break out in 2017, but nobody could have guessed the fourth-year wideout would end up with 1,276 yards receiving on 91 receptions and a Pro Bowl selection this season. His production in crucial situations has gone a long way toward the Vikings' success.

24. Xavier Rhodes, CB, Vikings

Rhodes, after a breakout season with five interceptions and a Pro Bowl appearance last year, picked off two more passes in 2017 and earned himself an All-Pro selection, the first of his career. He is firmly established as one of the league's best corners.